Vintage Vs Modern Analysis: Bossk (Bounty Hunter)

On January 1, 2011, exactly a year to the day after our original 2010: The Year We Make the Rest special report, Jedi Temple Archives brought you a super-deluxe update to it called 2011: It's Down To Seven, a report that showcased how many of the original vintage figures have been updated in the modern line. As a supplement to these reports, we are looking at each vintage figure one by one to determine if a definitive modern update has been made for it. We look back at each character's presence in Hasbro's long line of figures, from The Power Of The Force "2" line to today. As a special bonus, we have invited our friends from all across the web and other Star Wars fan sites will be adding their own opinions and commentary to this topic that seems to have endless discussion. We hope you enjoy this supplement to our special report and more than anything, we hope you will add you own point of view via the comments module and poll located in each vintage figure article.

Bossk has always been one of my most favorite Star Wars vintage figures of all time. While the figure from 1980 looked a little too friendly in comparison to his snarling character in Episode V, there was still something about the figure that made me feel wary as a kid. Maybe it was his green and slithery clawed feet or his scaly skin, but something rang “back off” to my other Star Wars action figures and Bossk usually reigned as victor. Bossk was one of the most faithful attempts by Kenner at recreating as close as possible the character’s outfit. Apparently Kenner had a lot more access to better reference materials as Bossk then some of his predecessors, as he came without fancy and shiny space boots, flashy clothing or even flippers. And what an amazing feat Kenner made by almost replicating his weapon perfectly. (Bossk had a unique gun in the vintage era unlike so many other figures.) Bossk was the figure that really helped me develop my affinity for the bounty hunters. Boba Fett was of course awesome, but I had a closer "bond" with Bossk. Actually, I kind of liked most figures that were colored yellow. Hmm, I wonder what that means. Every time a new Bossk figure (or any collectible for that matter) gets announced, I regress to that six year old boy and eagerly await its release. To date, we have eight (8) releases of Bossk across 4 unique sculpts (including the vintage figure). That is a lot of Bossks! (And there was even a Titanium version of him as well. Interestingly, the Titanium figure is the only modern version of Bossk to sport a smile without any teeth showing.) So what version is the best? Let’s see what we’ve been handed by Hasbro first.

The first modern era Bossk came to us 17 years later in The Power Of The Force “2” line. Despite its limited articulation and fair likeness, I still think this figure holds up well extraordinarily well today. Yes, it lacks super-articulation (we’re spoiled in today’s era), especially by current standards, but he had a very reasonable pose and his rifle could sit on his shoulders so he could hold his “Expanded Universe” blaster pistol. He wasn’t too super-hero-y and he boasted a confident stature without any awkward leans or action movement. Hasbro must have liked it too. This mold was used quite a few times (all the way up to 2006 when it was used in the The Saga Collection’s Hunt For The Millennium Falcon multipack) and it remains one of the best Star Wars figures from Hasbro in the late nineties. In 2004, Hasbro updated Bossk by releasing an all-new sculpt in the Star Wars “Saga” line. Proportions, details and articulation were all enhanced, but the figure had a terrible lean that made it more of a frustrating than exciting addition to my collection. I don’t think I can say it wasn’t better than the 1997 mold, but I will say that I don’t like it as much. The increased points of articulation didn’t help when the aesthetics were hampered by a strangely molded stance. Hasbro did however design an awesome new rifle and the insignias on the uniform never looked better, but that darn left leg was such a set back. I don’t like swivel joints in limbs, but I have to admit that the ones included with this Bossk were acceptable. These joints remained nicely hidden and moved as needed. This sculpt was also released with next to no changes in the Original Trilogy Collection. If anything, the paint job was a hair sloppier the second time around.

Just when I thought that a new Bossk action figure wouldn’t be revisited for another decade and a half, Hasbro, only 3 short years later, released the most incredible super-articulated Bossk. What’s more, Bossk (Bounty Hunter) was released in stellar premium “vintage” packaging. Pretty much action figure making in general changed in 2006/2007 and collectors were treated to some of the best efforts from Hasbro in years. Every figure released in the second wave of VTSC was stupendous (a year later from the first wave). Bossk was part of the assortment and Hasbro raised the bar on this character in so many different ways. Obviously, the figure is super-articulated with 14 amazing points of articulation. But Hasbro also was extra kind to us as they included separate molded parts to enhance his costuming. And besides the amazing paint job and cool accessories, the sculpt is one of the best I have ever seen in their basic figure line. (You can read an in-depth review on 2007’s VTSC Bossk (Bounty Hunter) figure HERE.) To date, this version of Bossk remains my most favorite version of all. Hasbro reissued it with a few changes to the paint job, but I don’t consider them further enhancements. This figure was part of 2010’s Star Wars “Shadow Of The Dark Side” Saga Legends line. I wrote up a brief article on all of the changes (which can be found HERE), but in a nutshell, the 2010 version of this figure has lighter colors and a few crisper details in the paint job this time around. Still, the paint job on the face of the 2007 figure just looks better in my own opinion. Hasbro also did a beautiful job on the animated version of Bossk that came packaged with The Rise Of Boba Fett Ultimate Battle Packs set. Bossk in that set is reason enough to pay the price for it.